In 2006, the Village was deeded this 6-acre bayfront treasure, a $4.7 million gift with Village obligations dictated in a “management plan.”  In 2020 the Village advertised a Request for Proposals to find an environmental non-profit to operate the facility and comply with the management plan.  Florida Bay Forever submitted the only proposal.

Feb 25, 2021 the Village passed a resolution giving Florida Bay Forever the responsibilities as required by the Florida Communities Trust Management Plan. This management agreement with Florida Bay Forever ends at the end of this month.

The Village has circulated information to some local nonprofits to determine if other organization would like to benefit from the use of the property and provide volunteer presence and services. Florida Bay Frever could be one of the volunteer organizations. The Village staff would take over the actual management functions currently provided by Florida Bay Forever. The future of the property was not on the Council agenda in February. But the council agreed to a 1-month extension with Florida Bay Forever until the March council meeting.  Manager Saunders and Village staff are to work with Florida Bay Forever to find the best solution for accommodating them and other nonprofits while assuring the requirements of the management plan are met. Taxpayer question: Why should the Village manage this facility with paid employees, when they have a terrific environmental organization fulfilling the educational, conservation and management requirements free of charge?

45th Annual Upper Keys GARDEN WALK 2026 Saturday 2/28/26 10am-4pm Pre-sale - $32 Day of Event - $35 Ticket information: Garden Walk Tickets – Garden Club of the Upper Keys

You thought our government was slow!

Feb. 12 the Miami City Commission agreed to a public referendum vote to restore the iconic Miami Marine Stadium on Key Biscayne. For 34 years, the structure has been sitting empty since it was declared unsafe following Hurricane Andrew in 1992.

Who remembers this Upper Matecumbe ice cream shop?

The key to successful government, at any level, is ACCOUNTABILITY.

In the past an “After Action Report” was included in monthly Council meeting agendas. We believe the last one was April 8, 2025. If you follow the Village efforts, as we do, that “status” report was very valuable.

For continued value it must be up to date. What happened?

At the January 6, 2026, council meeting, the “After Action Status Report” was discussed by council and was to be revived. Great news!

They explained that the report would include any efforts the staff is directed to undertake by a “consensus of the council” at council meetings. Why restrict the report?

By saying “directed staff” does that translate into the report not including the status of projects that have been farmed out to contractors, i.e. our Comp Plan, the wastewater rate study, canal restoration projects, just to name a few?

The status of these projects is critical to the transparency and competency of the Village. “Consensus of Council” should include ALLL projects including

the aforementioned studies and projects.

These are accountability and tax dollar issues.

There have been numerous projects that were not discussed at public meetings. There was the change of the zoning designation of the now, Village owned church. Who directed that change request?

Some projects have been discussed but no “consensus” vote was taken. i.e. to evaluate a rider charge for ride-share services; issuing an RFP for ride-share services. Status of these projects?

What is the fate of issues “directed by council” via the annual budget approval.

At the January meeting, Council members were given a sample “After Action Report” to approve. There were no objections. The public did not get to see the report before the directive from council to proceed.

Manager Saunders promised a complete report for the February meeting.

February report: 4 entries: Create Charter Review Committee, Comprehensive Plan Update; TDR Bank; Wastewater Rate Study.

Is this the complete status report promised? Or is this the “sample” provided to council last month? Please advise! We are getting mixed signals.

I believe the format is deficient. Include dates and steps taken toward completion of items, not just the date requested and the date completed. A complete status.

Click here to see the “After Action Report” in the Feb 10 agenda.

Click here to see the April 2025 report.

Once a project is completed, the council wants it removed from the list. Good business dictates that it be “moved” to an archive file of completed tasks. That is transparent and informative.

Ongoing Responsibilities: now that the council and public will have a way to follow the staff efforts for specific projects, let’s talk about ongoing responsibilities.

Why not providing semi-annual statistical reports by department? Surely the departments have a compilation of this data. The Village manager would need this to monitor progress and efficiency.

Examples:

Fire Rescue: # of employees in department, number of calls for service – for fire,

medical, etc.

Wastewater. Calls for sewer back-ups, leaks, maintenance calls.

Parks and Rec: number of folks paying entrance fee, fees for aquatic center broken down to include income per contracted service and/or Village provided service.

Marina: How many slips are rented long term, monthly, daily, and the charge etc. Number of boaters using ramp.

Without more information how are taxpayers assured that the Village is spending their tax dollars efficiently? We need this feedback.

Our staff has grown significantly over the past several decades. Our property taxes have increased over 50% in 5 years. Our population is dwindling a bit each year and many full-time residents can no longer afford the high cost of living here.

We need to do a better job of managing the cost and necessity government services we provide.

As we previously stated, ACCOUNTABILITY is the lynchpin to successful government at all levels. It’s time Village Council and management paid attention.

We want to preserve our way of life and this unique environment. Without accountability we will continue to be in a downward spiral. Throwing money, indiscriminately, at problems always fails.

Let’s be leaders!

 

Tom Raffanello

All 5 council seats are up for grabs! And we will likely have critical charter changes on the ballot as well.

To date, Don Horton is the only candidate who has filed.  To keep up with the coming election Click here.  

Running for municipal office is a powerful way to make a difference in your community.

Should you consider running for a seat on Village Council?

Some people run for the prestige of the position.  Some may want the financial advantages ($1000/month in pay)???  Few will admit either of these.

Many people run because they want to protect what makes Islamorada unique. They worry about the continual increase in taxes. They’ve watched the same problems come up year after year. They see council meetings where decisions are made without those most affected having a real voice.

If things are to change, someone has to step up.

If you think the Village is just fine the way it is, you are in luck!  If not, consider running for a seat on council.

CRITICAL: Public Attendance improve by 400% at the Monday charter review committee meeting. First meeting, 1 member of the public, this week - 4 members of the public. Where was the facilitator? The League of Cities provided a presentation. Click Here.

The committee is discussing important ideas that could change the way the Village operates - a majority of the committee seemed to prefer 3-year terms!  Will they want to recommend increasing council pay? Should we eliminate elections by “seats” or just elect the top vote getters? The public will decide but the public should attend the meetings and voice their ideas for innovative ways to improve the charter. Next meeting - Wed Feb 18 at 5:30PM, Community Room.

Meeting Prediction: Short meeting.  Just 15 tabs - almost half are in the consent agenda.  A majority of the remaining tabs are land use issues, including 4 quasi judicial hearings, scheduled for Tuesday with no Thursday Land Use meeting needed.

Old Population Studies: There are 623 pages in the Tuesday agenda. Two of the tabs have old 150-page County Population studies - projections from March 2011 and February 2000 - 300 of the 623 pages, used to justify growth requests for decades now.  Not valid today! U. S. One Right of Way: One item from the consent agenda that merits discussion. Tab 4, agreeing to a Turf and Landscape contract with FDOT for $65,644 annually for Islamorada Public Works to maintain the 18 miles of U.S. One. Litter Pickup – 12 times/yr: $1,744.00; $8.07/month/mile Mowing, including Edging and Weed Control – 12 times/yr: $14,032.00; $65/month/mile Landscape Maintenance/Tree Trimming – 12 times/yr: $39,868.00; $185/month/mile FDOT used to do the right of way maintenance, but the Village wanted more frequent mowing than monthly.  The Village opted to do the maintenance themselves and to be reimbursed by FDOT - but is $65,644 realistic? Or why not let FDOT do the monthly maintenance and when the right of way needs a little extra care, Public Works (or a local contract company) could supplement the service.  Or just renegotiate the amount FDOT pays us to a more realistic figure. What is missing from the agenda? Baseball - the School Board says Islamorada will get approval rights as owner of the field every step of the way.  When does that start?  The design contract is in use but never came before council.  One concern: Doesn’t it give the design contractor the sole right to pick the type and quality of the turf? Is that ok with the Village? Green Turtle Hammock: Decision regarding the future management of the Green Turtle Hammock Preserve was to be brought before council in February. Florida Bay Forever has provided services required by the management plan for the last 5 years and the agreement ends in a few weeks. Does the Village have a plan to fulfil the management plan dictated by the state? Why isn’t it in the agenda? Note: Green Turtle Hammock decision apparently wasn't on the agenda, but it WAS discussed at the meeting.